Juno Recommends Balearic / Downtempo April 2021

Review: Nicola Cruz's 'Hybridism' is the subject of this heavy hitting remix EP on Multi Culti, and it kicks off with Hivern Discs boss John Talbot. His take on 'Naeku' is tribal and steamy as it meanders through a jungle with mystic chords and pads. 'Third Eye Dub' (Azu Tiwaline remix) is as rhythmically inventive as you would expect of the artist and in the hands of Aunt Flo, 'Aima' is a fresh afro rhythm with watery effects. The in house team then serve up a so-called 'micro dub' of Naeku for more darkened dance floors in the middle of the night.

Review: Androo is back with a bang, hot on the heels of his first release on his own label Poly Dance. This time he works up two crackers with Ns Kroo, and both oscillate between pop harmonies and experimental rhythms. A-side gem 'Lots Of Love' effervesces with busy and restless lead synths while rugged arps and mechanical beats are underpinned by dubbed out drums. It's a peak time party tune for genuine music heads. On the flip is the more laidback and steamy 'Love Rhytm' with its noodling synth riffs and icy hi hats combine 80s sound design with futuristic Balearic vibes.

Review: Not a lot is known about Garrett besides Music From Memory's description of him/her as a 'mysterious producer out of Los Angeles'. Background information is superfluous when the compositions sparkle and shine as much as this, though... The swooning G-funk subversion of "Sweet Dreams", the hazy jazz sequence of "Angel Reflections", the slo-mo ebb and flow of "Right Noe". Even without Abel, Tiller and Reyenga's spotless seal of approval, this one's a guaranteed keeper.

Review: Emotional Rescue go hunting in the reeds for forgotten projects, and come up trumps once again. Delay Tactics formed at the beginning of the 80s as a tape looping project from Carl Weingarten and Reed Nesbit before expanding their palette with Walter Whitney's synth vamping. They didn't last past their second album, 1984's Any Questions?, but now the finest of the band's catalogue has been documented here. The sound is prime inquisitive 80s, teetering between the traditional band dynamic and the experimental pastures of technology-powered music. At times infectiously playful ('Oyster') and at others compellingly beautiful ('Kites'), Delay Tactics are exactly the kind of band that deserve another moment in the sunshine.